Andy Warhol's Rare Patek Philippe Watch Auctioned At Christie's Next Month, Predicted To Sell Up To IDR 9.3 Billion

JAKARTA - The Christie's auction house held a rare and high-value watch sale on December 5 in New York, with one of the items to sell being Andy Warhol's watch.

The auction, which will be held at the Rockefeller Center in Manhattan, will be the culmination of a tour of selected watches that were previously brought to Geneva (Switzerland) and Hong Kong. The hours will be on display on December 1-4 in New York, before being sold the next day.

Of the 24 well-known and valuable watches to be auctioned, perhaps the most famous watch is Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref 3448 once owned by Andy Warhol, the most famous American artist of the 20th century and inspired the art world.

Being one of the leading collectors, Warhol has collected many objects and works of art throughout his life, collectively known as "Andy's stuff".

After Warhol died in February 1987, all his collections were auctioned in sales that lasted for 10 days. The buyer of this watch kept it until 2014, before being sold again to its current owner.

"The overall condition is excellent and has been fully cleaned and restored by Patek Philippe in the mid-1980s," Christie's said, as reported by The National News November 23.

The clock has the last series of salted opalin plates from Stern Freres, with the sign Aprior at 6 o'clock, on both sides of the Swiss word. Meanwhile, 18 carat gold casings are still in original condition with sharp and firm edges.

With very good conditions and origin, this watch is expected to attract many enthusiasts. Christie's estimates this will sell between US$350,000 to US$600,000 or equivalent to Rp5,436,410,000 - Rp9,319,560,000.

Citing Christie's, Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref 3448 was first introduced to the market in 1962. This watch is one of the hundreds of collections of hours of the late Warhol, along with a number of other brands, such as Rolex to Audemars Piguet.

In addition to Warhol's Patek Philippe Perpetual Calendar Ref 3448, it was also auctioned off in the sale of December 5, including Patek Philippe Sky Moon Tourbillon Ref 5002P-001, Rolex